Can feeding and righting machine



C. F. COLBERT.

CAN FEEDING AND RIGHTING MACHINE.

- APPLICATION FILED JAN-11,1918.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

0. F. COLBERT. v CAN FEEDING AND RIGHTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. III I9I8- I 1,393,947, Patented 001;. 18, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

iweliar C. F. COLBERT.

CAN FEEDING AND RIGHTING MACHINE APPLICATION FILED JAN-1111918.

Patented 001:. 18, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEIET s.

PM W W* UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE I. COLIBERT, OF HQOPESTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SPRAGUE CANNING MAQHINERY COMPANY;IOF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

can FEEDING AND menrme MACHINE.

Specification of Letters l atent. a Pate ted Oct. 18, 1921.

Application filed January 11, 1918. Seiial No. 211,432.

State of Illinois, have invented new and use.

ful Improvements in Can Feeding and Righting Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had "to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

The present invention relates to can filling machines, and has, to do more particularly with the mechanism by which the cans are righted and delivered to their final filling positions upon the machine.

One object of the present invention is to produce a machine in which the cans will be advanced to the can carrying table in an efiicient and satisfactory manner. In feeding socalled sanitary cans, that is, cans having open tops and laterally extending seaming flanges, greater care must be exer-- cised than in the feeding of the more rugged cans having solder holes and caps. It .is'the purpose of the present invention to provide mechanism which will be especially efficient in feeding these sanitary cans aiid to reduce to a minimum the possibility'of injury to the can due to denting or mutilation of the flange, which would result in prevent- .ing the formation of a perfect seam and hermeticclosure. In prior devices; wherea positive feed has been employed, much in ury has been inflicted upon the cans because of the unyielding action of the mechamsm. H

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple and improved righting mechanism by which the cans may be received from a gravity feed chute with their axes in a substantially horizontal position and delivered right side up with their axes in a,

vertical position.

In carrying; out these objects I employ a friction feed for feeding the cans to the can carrying table of the machine, and for this purpose I preferablyemploy belts passing over pulleys. These belts cooperate with fixed guides to form a feeding channel and by passing the belts over pulleys having horizontal and vertical axes at the receiving and delivering ends respectively of the chan: nel they cooperate with the fixed guides to readily rightthe cans on their way to the can carrying table.

These and other objects and features of my invention will be more fully understood upon reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and the scope of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In said drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a can filling machine constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same. viewed from the opposite side of. the machine.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and v Fig. 4 is a view vation.

Throughout these views like refer to like parts.

Referring to the drawing in detail, 10 designates a portion of the main frame of the machine in which the main shaft 11 is journaled. This vertical shaft carries the filling mechanism (not shown), the can carof the same parts in elecharacters rying table 12 and a series of sweeps 13.

These latter may be supported in any deslred way, but are preferably secured to the filling mechanism by means of arms 14. 14

A peripheral guide 15 is positioned adjacent to the periphery of the table 12 and 1s 'fixedto a bracket 16, which is in turn adjustably secured to a, portion of the main frame 10. The adjustment is provided in the present instance by a slot 18 in the bracket 16 through which set screws 19 are passed into threaded engagement with the '.toward and from the shaft 11 into any desired position. When once positioned the screws 19 may be screwed down tight so as to hold the'parts against displacement. The

forward end of the guide 15 is turned out-- ward in a radialdirection to more readily engage the cans in their travel toward the table 12. It will be understood that in operation the filling mechanism,sweeps 13 and table 12 all move, in the direction indicated by the arrow, at uniform speed.

' After the cans have completed their circuit upon the table 12 they are engaged by a delivery sweep 20, which extends into the path of travel of the cans. By this. sweep 20 the filled cans are conducted from the table 12 to the auxiliary table 21 which rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow shown upon it. From this table the cans may be removed in any desired way.

The main frame 10 carries an auxiliary frame 22 which is bifurcated at its outer end so as to provide journal arms 23, 24. At its inner end this auxiliary frame 22 is provided with a horizontal plate 25, which extends into close proximity to the rotary table 12, and has its upper face lying sub stantially in the same horizontal plane as the upper face of the table 12. It is to .this plate 25 that the delivery sweep is secured. The portion of the frame 22, ad-

' jacent to the plate is provided with bearings 26, 27 for a vertical shaft 28. This shaft is driven from the main shaft 11 by means of a train of gearing,'including a gear wheel 29 on the shaft 11, meshing with a pinion 30 on a counter shaft 31,- and a sprocket wheel 32 on shaft 31 driving a sprocket chain 33 to actuate sprocket wheel 34 upon shaft 28. The shaft 28 carries a delivery disk 35 which slightly overlaps the table 12. This same shaft also carriesv two grooved pulleys 36 and 37, the former being positioned close to the disk 35 and the latter ashort distance above it. The spacing ofthe pulleys 36 and 37 is of course such as to bring the belts 38 and 39, carried by them. into engagement with the surface-of a can. In other words the distance between the belts is somewhat less than the height of the can.

The belts 38 and 39 pass over cotiperating grooved pulleys 40 and 41, mounted upon a hor1zontal-sp1ndle 42 journaled in the arms 23 and 24 of the auxiliary frame 22. The

space between the pulleys 41 and 42 is such as to bring both belts into engagement with a single can as it is received from the grav- -ity chuteformed by the upright strips 43,.

44, 45 and 46. These strips are'curved at their lower ends and secured to a rectangular frame 47, which is in.-turn; bolted 41, guide pulleys 49 and 50 are provided upon the upper ends of arms 51 and 52-'re-- against the upper faces of the arms 23-and 24. In the present instance the upper ends of the strips 43, 44, '45 and 46 are shown secured to a rectangular frame 48, which forms part of the gravity feed chute construction. It will be understood 'that this gravity feed chute may be variouslicoristructed, and in ordinary installations it is a. chute leading from a floor above the floor on' which the filling machine is located. In order to maintain the belts 38 and 39 'in operative engagement withthe pulleys 40 and spectively. These arms aresecured to the auxiliary frame 22. At the point'where the cans emerge from the gravity chute they enage the belts 38 and 39 in a substantially l iorizontal plane, but as the cans proceed toward the pulleys 36 and 37 the position of the belts 38 and 39 changefrom a horizontalplane to a vertical plane, and consequently the cans are shifted from a horizontal position to a vertical position. In order that the belts 38 and 39 may bring about this change it is necessary to provide some gulding means which will coeperate with the belts. In the present instance guide rods 53, 54, 55and 56 are provided for this purpose. Each of these rods is secured at one end to the rectangular frame 47 In each instance this is done preferably by passing the rod into a socket and using a set screw I 54 and 55 engage 'the sides. The rod 54 will engage the side of the can at a point more or less directly opposlte that engaged by the belt 39.

Similarly rod 55 engages at a point prac- I tically opposite to that. engaged by belt 38. In the rightingof the can the rod 56 en'- gages the bottom of the can. It Wlll be noted that the guide rods 54 and 55 are se- -cured near their forward ends to a post 58 securedat its lower end to the plate 25. It

will beseen from the drawings that the peripheral guide 15 has its adjacent outwardly turned end located between the pulleys 36 and 37 so as to readily engage the cans as they pass the latter.

From this description of the parts it will be seen that in operation a stream of cans, designated 59, will pass by gravity down through the gravity chute and be delivered,

one by one upon 'the belts 38 and 39 at point adjacentto pulleys 40 and 41 and each can will then be righted through the joint action of the belts and the associated guides.

It will be. seen that ifthe stream of cans is stopped, the bolts 38 and '39 will slip over the cans .and not cause them to be injured by reason of undue pressure one upon the other,

or by reason of unyielding operation of any parts of the mechanism. 'The cans thus fed will be forced-one by one. against the re- (Fading can face 60 of a sweep 13, which will gradually allow the engaged can to move slightly inward toward the shaft Has the sweep advances, until. finally the can is in positlon to be engaged by the radial abutting ace 61 of the next sweep. 13. When thus engaged the can will be held by the sweep in a definite position *on the table 12, while the I latter carries the can around to be filled and finally delivered through the action of the delivery sweep 20. In positioning the can the peripheral guide 15 engages the outer portion of the can and holds it from radial displacement. It will be understood that the guide 15 will be adjusted to suit the size of the cans with which the machine is to be operated. In their travel the sweeps 13 pass above the delivery sweep 20 as will be clear from inspection of Fig. 2.

It may also be pointed out that when a can is in position against the radial face 61 of a sweep 13 it is also in engagement with the tail of the preceding sweep 13. It will be seen that in the feeding and righting mechanism no. time relation need be maintained between the parts'o f such mechanism and the parts driven by the shaft 11.

The friction drive provided by the belts of a this mechanism avoid the necessity of any such t me relation.

In carrying out my invention it will bev apparent that other friction devices than the belts 38. and 39 might equally well be employed. Qther modifications of the structure herein disclosed may also be made by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

lVhat'I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A can handling machine for handling sanitary canscomprising a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, a vertical chute inwhich the cans are held with their axes in horizontal positions, said sweep having a receding spiral surface, against which the cans are fed, and a shoulder which engages the cans after they have been fed inwardly toward thecenter of the sweep, along said receding spiral surface, and impositive frictional means for feeding said cans from said vertical chute against said receding surface.

2. A can handling device for handling sanitary cans comprising a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, a vertical can chute n which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position, said sweep comprising a receding spiral .surface against which the cans are fed with their axes in vertical position, and a shoulder which engages the cans after .they have been moved radially inwardly along said receding spiral surface, and impositive frictional means for feeding the cans from said vertical chute against said receding surface, and for changing the oans from a position in which their axes are horizontal to a position in whidhtheir axes are vertical, said impositive means comprising a disk rotatable about a vertical axis, on which the ends of the cans rest.

. 3. A can handling device for handling sanitary cans, comprising a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, and a vertical can feeder in which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position, said can feeder having a receding spiral surface against which the cans are fed with their axes in vertical position, a shoulder which engages the cans after they have fed radially inwardly along said receding spiral surface, and impositive frictional means for feeding said cans from said vertical chute'against said receding surface and for changing them from a position in which their axes are horizontal, to a position in which their axes are vertical, comprising a belt for engaging the sides of the cans.

4. A can handling device for handling sanitary cans, comprising a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, and a vertical can feeder in which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position, said can feeder having a receding spiral surface against which the cans are fed .with their axes in vertical'position, a shoulder which engages the cans after they have been fed radially inwardly along said receding spiral surface,

horizontal, to a position in which their axes are vertical, comprising a twisted belt for engaging the sides of the cans.

5. A device for handling cans comprising i a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, a vertical can chute, in which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position,

said sweep having a receding spiral surface,

against which the cans are fed with their axes in vertical position, a shoulder engaging the cans after they have been fed radially inwardly along said receding spiral surface, and impositive frictional means for feeding said cans from said 'vertical chute gainst said receding surface, and for changing the cans from a position in which their axes are horizontal, to a position in which their axes are "ertical, comprising a disk rotatable about a vertical axis on which the ends of the cans rest, a belt for engaging the sides of the cans, (and a belt pulley over which said belt runs, said belt pulley bek 'ing coaxial with the rotatable disk.

7. A machine for handling sanitary cans comprising a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, a vertical can chute in which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position, and impositive frictional means for feeding said cans from said vertical chute to said sweep, and for changing the cans from a position in which their axes are horizontal to a position in which their axes are vertical, comprising atwisted belt for engaging the sides of the cans and a belt 'pulley over which said belt runs located underneath the lower end of said vertical can chute.

8. A machine for handling sanitary cans, comprising a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, a vertical chute in which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position, and impositive frictional means for feeding said cans from said vertical chute to said sweep, and for changing them from a position in which their axes are horizontal to a position in which their axes are ver-.

tical, comprising a twisted belt for engaging the sides of the cans, a belt pulley over which said belt runs, having a horizontal axis and located underneath the lower end of said canchute and a second belt pulley rotatable about a vertical axis, over which said belt runs.

9. A machine for handling sanitary cans, comprising a sweep rotatable about a vertical axis, a vertical chute in which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position, and impositive frictional means for feeding said cans from said vertical chute to said sweep, and for changing them from a position in which their axes are horizontal to a position in which their axes are vertical, comprising a twisted belt for engaging the sidesof the cans, a belt pulley over which said belt runs, having a horizontal axis. and located underneath the lower end of said can chute and a second belt pulley impositive frictlonal means for moving the cans along the twisted can chute.

11. A machlne for handling sanitary cans comprising a vertical chute in'which the cans are held with their axes in horizontal position, and means for feeding said cans from said vertical chute and changing them from' a position in which their axesare horizontal to a position in which they are vertical, comprising a twisted can chute, andimpositive frictional means for moving the cans: along the twisted can chute, said impositive means comprising a twisted belt.

12. A can righting mechanism, comprising a twisted can chute,.a pulley located below and adjacent to one end of said twisted chute, and mounted to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis, a pulley located to one side of, and adjacent to the other end of said twisted can chute, mounted to rotate about a substantially vertical axis, and a belt running over said pulleys, and engaging the cans for advancing them along said can chute.

13. In a can filling machine, the combination with a can carrying traveling element and means for positioning successive cans upon said element, of a gravity feed can chute along which the cans are adapted to pass with their axes substantially horizontal, grooved pulleys mounted on a horizontal axis at the lower end ofsaid chute, other grooved pulleys mounted on a vertical axis adjacent to said traveling element, belts positioned in corresponding grooves in said horizontal and vertical pulleys so as to frictionally engage the cans delivered from said gravity chute in a horizontal position and frictionally advance them toward said traveling element and right them as they pass, cooperating guides forming with said belts a channel for said cans, guide pulleys for said belts to assist in maintainin said belts in engagement with the grooves in said pulleys, and means for posltively driving said grooved pulleys mounted on a vertical axis.

14. In a can filling machine, the combination with a can chute alongwhich the cans are adapted to move with their axes substantiallv horizontal, of a can-righting mecha nism including fixed ides and traveling belts forming a righting channel, pulleys upon horizontal and vertical axes at the receiving and delivering ends of said channel, respectively, upon which said belts travel, and means for driving said pulleys.

In witness whereof, 'I have hereunto subscribed my 

